Wilayat Sinai

Wilayat Sinai was a branch of the Islamic State formed on 13 November 2014 in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt with 1,500 fighters.

History
On 13 November 2014, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis declared its allegiance to the Islamic State, which claimed that it was the new Islamic caliphate. Wilayat Sinai mostly carried out attacks in North Sinai, killing hundreds of Egyptian security personnel and civilians. In 2015, Wilayat Sinai became known as a large threat to international security after killing 21-64 soldiers in an offensive in Sheikh Zuweid before a counterattack left 241 militants dead, and on 31 October 2015 Metrojet Flight 9268 was blown up by a bomb placed in the hold, killing all 224 passengers on board. The bombing was in retribution for the Russian Air Force's bombing campaign in Syria, as most of the passengers on the plane were from Russia. In addition to this bombing, Wilayat Sinai claimed responsibility for sinking an Egyptian vessel on 16 July 2015 and firing rockets at Israel, with two rockets striking Eshkol (although nobody was injured).